Many transport vehicles are designed to transport freight, goods, merchandise, personal property, and other such cargo. Often, such transport vehicles utilize a load bed to haul such cargo. For example, operators often utilize the load bed of a pick-up truck to haul cargo. The load bed, however, is often elevated from the ground making it difficult to load and unload heavy objects from such load beds. Accordingly, operators will utilize a ramp that extends from the ground upwards to the load bed of the transporting vehicle to load and unload heavy objects.
Numerous types of ramps are used to assist in the loading and unloading of objects to and from transport vehicles. Particularly, trucks, vans, trailers and the like may utilize ramps to assist in the loading of rolling objects such as ATVs, motorcycles, lawnmowers, etc. One common type of ramp consists of a plurality of rungs whereby each rung is separated from a successive rung by an open space. The rungs may be connected at or near the ends by rails. The successive rungs and the rails form a series of frame-like structures surrounding the central openings, similar to a ladder. Such a structure allows for loading and unloading of objects, such as ATVs, motorcycles, lawnmowers, etc. to and from the transport vehicle.
Because ramps extend often extend from a tailgate of a vehicle to the ground, they need to be of a significant length. This can make storing the ramp difficult as they are long (often five feet or more). Further still, this length can make transporting them difficult as well. In response, ramps that are able to have their length shortened for transport or storing have been developed. This may include folding or telescoping ramps.
Telescoping ramps have also been used to assist with positioning the ramp between the ground and the vehicle. However, known prior art telescoping ramps may be unable to be easily extended or retracted into desired positions. Various other design issues exist in the prior art. In one example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,827,641 to Hoffman et al. discloses a telescoping ramp assembly for spanning two surfaces. This assembly includes stop members used to prevent the sliding ramp members from sliding apart. However, the stop members are not able to prevent movement between the two ramp sections and are susceptible to collapse when heavier objects are placed on the ramp in the extended state. Therefore, there is a need for an improved telescoping ramp that solves the shortcomings of the prior art.